New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-11-18
NEW PUBLICATIONS
A SURPRISING BOOK.


..st El,,o ard o. her cpoc hal works. But surely
tbot IS not at I'll q proper frame OF mind in whichto
CONTEMPLATE The remarkable creations of tins lady,
Itls nue. that the world in which she moves is one
from which the rest of Us are exc uded the
atrosDhcre of which rerha we could not breathe:
the deuIzcns of which fail to recognize as beng
KIN 20 our common humanity. But is II
not cause for humble thaukfulness that we
bavo among us an author capable. even at
twelve-ycar Intervals. of lifting rs far above the
carkng cares of this sordid sphere and bathing
our splrits 50 TO speak, in the refined and refnng
medium through which her own floats so buoy
antly ? May we not say Of her also as was observed
OF Ecypts dusky Queen, that age cannot wI'her
her nor custom stale her inGnitc variety = After
silence % twelve years she resp2sais with novel.
the very title OF which must cause Hutter Oh
Joyous expectation. At the Mercy OF llberlus
is name, and If puts the reader at the mercy OF
1Ilcnus through more than SIX hundred thri'Iihg
md uplifting pages.
No SOLDERING change has come upon the great
style of the author OF st Elmo. she Is ~ true TO
her encyc opedia as the needle to the poe. Inc
noble JohnsoncSc of her vocabulary pervadeS de-
script;on and dialogue AZ of y0rc. 1he tad, that
never was land or sea still flows from the lips OF
such heroes aud heroincs as only this clfSslca m
tellcct could have conceived. in the new novel
there is heroine named Beryl: rare and radiant
ere aud features moulded upon scale almost
berclc" Moreover this statueS0ue creature Is SIN
grd out from all the rest of by the remark
abe fact tina mature had beStOc ed upon her firm
white flesh n cleaning smOothne>S, suggestive
of fne-graned marble highly u"ll>hed.'
TO fix the identity OF Berry,
j. added that she of the kind "whoSe archie
type Beleda read ruuc rhymes TO the Rrucien III
the twilight of history" After that OF course every
IL. l,ot ha was Ike Ae n
hero Lennox Dunbar. he Is fac-simile OF the
Chiaramonte Tiberlus" and it is BervI who is "at
H. mercy IN one way another all through the
story. And such a story a. II -! Imagine a sub
structure OF criminal ana detective business of err
cuInstantlal evidence buagng shame and punish
ment upon the innocent; but all this taken Qule
ont of the order of everyday happenings by tne
genius of an author 20 whom nothing IS common
pace.
II is with something of the delighted surprise a
sudden peep INTO Far, land miqht be supposed to
bring that we enter this en hauted domain. ~
which mallard ducks become "ioltheIed nOmadS
cow-bel!S sound "a nOcturne OF rest Tor TIE closing
d0v": q murder plunges community mo " a hrrcc
SEE. hug whirlpool of conflicting Hs'lOAS,' AID
Southern reconstruction tmeu;Ion of w'nch always
peculiarly eNcItcs the intellectual >ecrelonS OF tins
au,hOI appears under the most bewIlderugN Pro-
team figures he tabled RaSNarOk of The SaeaS.
a. 'Iduturd. as a UIduClJl J,u N"Nldl tHd'>, -
81 Inaelsroln," and also rs "a CHASTITY sun How
can one 1al to draw inspiration nom writer so
focund of imagination that she cannot
even say that a glrl and policeman hello
their tongues without remarNlng that they were
cas- silent as two mummes IN the cryPts
OF kaInac"f And how can there he any common
place IN The observations OF a writer capable OF
saying "tlc rosy ciamor Of happy anticipation
conouerS even the discomfort Ot freight caboOsc I
Ii IS tn, persistent and courageous gliding OF nnr
petty lives which IS the Distinguishing character
is, { of Mis- WIiSJh-more widely known. let Is be
permitted q add as Aucusta Evans. J. Is he f.
luxuIiant optimism. the cxicographic opuienco OF
hel expression, which taxes so strong hold upon /
the reader Who out she would thus have described
a young lady's state OF mind: apparently
the Of prosperity burned in tho zeuiih
and gilAed her path with happiness but analyzod
by the PRISM of her consciousness the brightness
faced the color paled and grim menace crossed
all like the dark lines OF Fraunhoier.' There Is
cem now-"ths dark lines If Fraunhofer' How
subiy and deIcately 1t indicates her acQunnt-
anre with spectrum analysis and with VIVA, art is
the scientific aluson Iieahzcl.
But The story choke fuil OF writing inst as iGe
ihc above The author Is never at loss, never
lose, the high KEY never cesceads to the vu!gaUty
Of realism. All her people, men aud women alike
fiji their conversation with learned metaphors
Az OF them, IKE one VINO frankly makes
the admission. have "pored over Thucy
dldes putarcb. Roliin and Grote." All OF
tlem can talk about tho Dionysac Mys;e-
rcs, and the stream Of Aryan migration"
When lawyer has to address a Southern country
Jury he compliments their eruditiOn by reminding
them of the maxlms which glow in immortal
lustre on the pages OF the Mechllta OF the TAI
mud lie would not think Of coudesccndlng 90
low as to cite "Greenlcafon Evidence, or anything
of that common sort. When he has done with the
criminal practice of the ancient Hebrews he para
lyzes the jury with a citation from tie proceedings
Of the Council of len. Not to be outdone, the op
posing lawyer tells the jury that the theory Of the
defence Is beautiful and sparkling the fran
glass of Murano, aud equally as thin, treacheI-
ously brittle" indeed. speeches Of these Two
attorneys are wonderful TO be alone worth the
price of the book
And then the love-makiDg not very warm, 70 y"
sure, because il is rather difficult 70 MAINTAIN
animal heat at great elevations but such beautl-
full langul ge. such long words such elaborate SEN
fences, such lofty sentiments, have been seldom
seen since Richardson lad down his pen after
finishing Sir Charles Grandson Hidden under
all this wealth of ornamentatIon there is plot
Which really shows not a little ingenuity There IS
sensational discovery of the identity OF muir
derer through lightning photograph. There are
some cOnce ptous Of pathos and sorrow which
wohid be quite moving. had they been adapted
to the compreh .nsioa of everyday people But
what then Can it be expected that Mrs. Wilson
should level her style down to the public On the
contrary. is it not her mission to raise the pabc
taste 10 the plane OF her style There are indeed,
one or two points about manners III her
world which raise a doubt or feeling OF dissent.
Her people have voices which are liable to die IN
qmverIng gurgie and that sound somehow un-
oanny. Her peoples eyes TOO are given to Hash
InR' in a way too suggestive OF temper Indeed
there is pcrvading ebulIIence abont these char
acters which does not seem compatible with the re-
pose of We're lie We're. Yet the book Is amazingly
..A..,. 1rlu In W. m ny